


Thursday Night

by suecsit



Category: Cobra Kai, The Karate Kid
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, coffee shop AU of sorts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 09:33:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15660504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suecsit/pseuds/suecsit
Summary: Daniel visits Johnny again and asks questions. This is the sequel to "ABC (Always Be Closing)."





	Thursday Night

Johnny always found Thursday to be an interesting night crowd at his bar. The folks who came weren’t heavy partiers, but they clearly didn’t want to sit at home and watch reality tv either. They wanted something in between, some sort of moderation that Johnny admired. Some sort of balance. 

Thursday night had fewer expectations built around it. Johnny found that people often left the bar happy that night because they hadn’t expected much in the first place when they entered. On Fridays he’d seen his share of lonely guys and girls throw down a meager tip and storm out when they failed to meet their soul mates. What idiots. That Kate Perry chick was a moron to think that Friday night was something you should sing about.

That’s why it surprised Johnny that Daniel Larusso walked in on a Thursday. In his few encounters with the man, he had learned that Daniel was anything but balanced. He was all work and no play. All parent, no youth. The one time he had anything to drink was at lunch on a weekday. And he had stopped showing up for that.

Johnny remember how it felt when Daniel relaxed into his hands, just for a minute, that day in the parking lot. He remembered feeling the tension leave him. He smiled to himself when he thought of it. 

There wasn’t any free space at the bar when Daniel first arrived. He started to head back to a table in the corner, but Johnny motioned his head a little to indicate that he’d clear a spot. Johnny then collected the check from this guy who wasn’t even using the seat—he was standing up against it, busy Face-timing with his girlfriend and impressing his friends. Johnny leaned over and shouted, “You’re done here, right?” The guy turned, gave Johnny a look, and moved away begrudgingly. Johnny waved Daniel over.

“All yours,” Johnny said, wiping the countertop. “It has your name on it.”

Daniel shook his head. “I guess chivalry isn’t dead after all,” he quipped, sliding easily on to the metal seat. He ordered a martini “ice, ice cold” with several olives. Johnny was especially pleased when he glanced at his phone once and then tucked it away in his jacket. 

Johnny handed him his drink but put a napkin out first. “Good to see you,” he said, his finger brushing against Daniel’s as Daniel took the drink from him.

Daniel didn’t respond, but he smiled. A little. Then he took a sip.

They didn’t talk for some time. The crowd was moving in and out, and Johnny spent most of his time filling drink orders. It would have been hard to talk with the noise anyway.  
After an hour or so, the crowd thinned. Johnny had more time to kill. He handed Daniel his third drink, one he hadn’t ordered.

“Hold on, I’m driving,” Daniel said, his hand up to stop him. “My wife would kill me.”

“Always the boy scout,” Johnny said. “But if you’re sure…” He started to remove the beverage from Daniel’s sight. Daniel changed his mind and pulled it back from him at the last minute.

“On second thought I’ll just call a cab,” he mumbled over the rim of the glass. “Ever been married?” 

“Yes.”

Daniel set the drink down and regarded him with some surprise. “I thought you said you were—“

“So?” 

Daniel shrugged, confused but now comfortably warm from the liquor. “What happened?”

“A guy.”

“Anyone I know?” he joked. The booze had loosened him up. Johnny found it amusing and smiled.

“Actually, yeah. You remember Bobby?”

Daniel stared. 

“Bobby Brown.”

“Yeah, I know who Bobby is.”

“He took karate with me…”

“Johnny. No explanation needed. My leg still hurts when it rains.”

“Oh,” Johnny’s face fell for just a moment. “Right.”

Daniel didn’t seem upset at the memory. He just motioned Johnny to continue. 

“He and I had been best friends for years, and one day we were something else. Shannon found out, and the rest is history.”

“Shannon?”

“My wife.”

“Huh.” Daniel lowered his eyes and sipped his drink. He looked like he wanted to ask something, but he stopped himself.

The last few customers were trickling out. Johnny couldn’t have been happier to see them go. He thought it was time to have some fun. “Go ahead and ask,” he said.

“It’s just…” Daniel looked uncertain. “Back in the day…” his voice trailed off. Liquor didn’t loosen his tongue as much as Johnny would have liked, but he figured one more drink and that might change.

“Back in the day…what?” Johnny leaned against the back of the bar, crossing his arms, studying Daniel. 

“Back in the day you just seemed to have it made. Girls, motorbikes, all of it.”

“I did for a while, I guess.” Johnny didn’t feel like sharing any behind the scenes stories about his stepfather. This conversation wasn’t about that. 

“So you just woke up one morning and…” Daniel gestured with his arm like he was trying to pull the words from his mouth and didn’t know how.

“And…what?” He suppressed a smirk that was creeping around the edges of his lips.

“You liked guys?” Daniel’s face was getting flushed from alcohol and something else now. “You said you had a crush on me.”

“I do. I mean, I did.”

“Sorry, Johnny, but that doesn’t make any sense.” Daniel leaned his forehead in his hand, almost identical to the way he had done so when he had the headache at the dealership.

“Why not?”

“You wanted to get Ali back.”

“Yep.”

“And you had a crush on me.”

“Yep.”

“You sound like you’re full of shit, you know that, right?”

Johnny let the smirk come out. “Another round?” he gestured to the empty martini glass. Daniel didn’t respond. He just stared. 

“Look, Larusso, it’s not one or the other. When I’m attracted to someone, I’m attracted to someone. Doesn’t really matter what their outsides look like.”

“Oh, so you’re saying this had nothing to do with looks?”

Johnny laughed. “I didn’t say that.”

“Then what ARE you saying?”

“Everything’s one or the other with you, isn’t it? Good or bad…men or women…”

“You’d be surprised,” Daniel muttered. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You weren’t here when I took lessons at Cobra Kai.”

Now Johnny was the one who spit out his drink, a glass of ice water he had back by the cash register. “Now who’s full of shit?” he sputtered, turning to wipe his mouth with a towel.

“You don’t believe me?”

“Hell, no, I don’t believe you,” Johnny said, shaking his head. He set the water aside and reached for a Coors. He pushed one across to Daniel.

“I don’t drink that stuff.”

“Shut up and have the beer. No more liquor.”

“Anyone ever tell you your bartending skills leave much to be desired?”

It was past eleven, and Johnny usually closed down at midnight. He and Daniel were the only ones left. He moved around the bar and sat down on a stool with him, clinking his beer bottle on Daniel’s untouched one. “Prove it,” he challenged.

“How the hell would I do that?” Daniel took a swig of the bottle and grimaced. 

“I don’t know,” Johnny said. “But I don’t believe you.”

“I still have the gi.”

“Bullshit.”

“I do, wise guy. Somewhere in my old trunk.”

Johnny set his beer down. “Show me,” he teased. 

“Show you what?”

“The gi.”

“It’s at home,” Daniel countered. 

“I’ll be so quiet they’ll never even know I’m there.” Johnny leaned in to whisper it in Daniel’s ear. He felt Daniel shiver a little. “Besides, someone has to drive you. Might as well be me. Come on,” he urged, pulling Daniel up from the stool. “Road trip time.”

“What, now?”

“Hell, yeah.” Johnny pulled his keys out of his pocket and shook them. “No time like the present.”

Daniel was looking at him in a way that suddenly made Johnny want to throw him on the floor and do all kinds of things to him. “I must be crazy,” he said, not breaking eye contact with Johnny.

“Even if you are, it’s fine by me.” He held his hand out. “Let’s go.”

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, I'm so sorry for the cliffhanger--I've hit a wall with my writing and am trying to break through it small piece by small piece. Thank you for your patience! :D


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